You Shall Leave Your Land

In a prequel to The Distance Between Us, Cisneros continues in this dishy outing his Latin American family’s history as he relates three earlier generations. As a child, Cisneros writes, Renato resisted his family, a disposition stemming from secrets kept around the “stubborn and doomed love” between his great-great-grandmother and the parish priest. The couple’s nearly 50-year romance produced seven children, including Renato’s great-grandfather Luis Benjamín Cisneros, a diplomat and poet. Luis has three children with the mistress of Peru’s president, but he abandons everyone to move to France in 1859. He returns home for a political meeting, marries Cristina, 14, and returns to Europe with her, where she bears him seven children, including the narrator’s grandfather, Fernán. Back in Peru in 1909, the young Fernán, a journalist, is sent to prison several times for political agitation, and eventually into exile in Argentina. There, Fernán lives a double life while fathering children with both his wife and his mistress. He has seven children with the latter, whom he eventually marries, including the narrator’s father. Alongside the family drama, Cisneros has a sure hand in highlighting the turning points of Peru’s long struggle for independence, with cameos from such political figures as Simon Bolívar and Napoleon III. This thorough account of a powerful family will intrigue fans of Latin American literature. Agent: Anna Soler-Pont, Pontas Copyright Agency. (Jan.)